Amusement device



Feb. 13, 192-2.- 4 1,4453%.

E- A. ThBRY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

mc'n JULY 19.1921.' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Wag

E. A. TERRY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

FILED JULY 19,1921.

3 SHEETSSHEE.T 2.

Feb. 13, 1923 Feb. 13, 1923. 1,445,369. E. A. TERRY.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE. I

FILED JULY 19.1921. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Fatented Feb. 13, 1923,

ears-a EDWIN A. TERRY, or CLINTON, rumors.

aimsmmnur DEVICE;

Application me'a July 19, 1921. Serial 1T0. 486,091.

new and useful Improvements in Amusement Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

My presentinvention relates to improvements in annisenient devicesinvolving a portable equipment which includes vehicles having speciallyconstructed supe'rstructures or houses thereon divided intocompartments, and comprising, in one instance a house adapted to berocked and also fashi 'ine(1l*-\vitli i'novable 'tloo'r members. heprimary object of the invention is the provision of a device orappliance of this character into which the public is to be admitted torpassage therethrough, and during such passage the visitor is subjectedto unusual and unexpected experiences due to the rocking of thestructure and to the movement of the floor members, thus providing anovel and attractiveamusement device as a source of fun and frolic.

To this end the invention involves the combination and arrangement of aplurality of passages and compartments with doors between, together withthe movable structure and flooring and operating means there- :tor' aswill be more specifically hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings 1 have illustrated one complete example ofthe physical ei'nbodiment'of my invention where. in the parts arecombined and arranged ac cording to the best mode I have thus fardevised for the practical application of the principles ofmyinvention.

Figure is a view in side elevation of the amusement device forming thesubject matter of my invention, the structure being fashioned in theform of a Noahsark.

Figure 2 is a floor plan of the whole structure illustrating thecommunicating compartments or passages, and indicating by dotted linesthe mani' e'r 'of fol'ding some of the walls of the Noahs ark whentransport in'g the same, or for packing.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through the pair of vehicles orwagons and floors therefor, sho'v'vlng especially the piv- 'otal supportof one of the structures and operating mechanism. 7

Figure 41 is a longitudinal view, in section of the floor portion of theosci'llatable or rocking structure, showing one of its pivots.

Figure 5 is "a plan view of the movable floor members, SllOWlDQJ alsothe operating mechanism therefor, actuated from an electric motor.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail view at line 6--6 of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is a sectional detail view longitudinally of the floor inFigure '5, on line 7-7.

FiguroS is a transverse sectional view oi? the fioor'in Figure 5 on line88.

Tn the preferred form of the inveutiijm as illustrated in the drawings 1utilize two ve hicles or wagons oi suitable size, say i wide by 19 or 20long, spaced side by side with a space of 18 to 24 between them.

The wagon which appears as the front or the amusement device, in Figure1 has a body 1 su ported by the wheels 2, 2, and

provided with a floor 3. Above the supporting irame are front and rearside walls 41 and 5 and end walls 6 and 7that form permanent members ofthe structure, which 18 formed asa' rectangle with a roof or top 8.

In order that this structure may be attractive'in appearance it is madeto resemble a Noahs ark by the iitilizatio'n or a pair of toldable falsewalls 9 and 10 at one end and a similar pair 01 tolda-ble walls 11and 12at the other end to simulate the bow and stern of the ark. These severalfalse walls are hinged at 13 at the ends of the wagon structure or housewith the joints oitset, in order that the four walls may be foldedagainst the ends of the house structure and there secured when theapparatus is stored or being transported to a show place. At theirjointed ends these angular walls are secured together as by bolts at 14to hold them in extended position, suitable locking plates 15 on theadjoining walls being uti- 18 and 19, depending from the lower edges ofthese two members and hinged at 29 thereto. As indicated in dotted linesFigure 2 the wall 16 may be folded up against the wall 4c, the wall 18against wall and wall 19 against wall 1.2, and then the end walls foldedagainst the permanent end walls of the house, in order to pack thestructure, and for transportation purposes.

1 The house of the wagon 1 has an entrance door reached iroinl'he steps22 and platform and an exit door 2 1 from which the steps 25 lead d ownto the ground surface, and it will be understood that elaborate and gayIlQCOIj'tlllODS and accessories usually accompanying a street show oramusement dev ce oi tl character will be utilized to give an. attractiveand novel appearai'ice to the device. a

In the floor plan of Figure 2 it will be seen that the house of wagon 1is divided longitudinally by a central partition 26, and

within thedoorway 21 two transversely ex tending partitions 27 and 28form a vestibule from which the swinging door 29 permits passage throughthe hall 30. At

- one end of the partition 26 an alined, swinginn; door 31 permitsaccess to the compara tively long corridor 32,. which'is closed at itsleft end byfthe transverse partition 33 extending entirelyacross thefloor 3 of the agon 1. This-partition proviiles for an l exit hallleading tothe exit or outlet door 24 of the wagon. lVithin the vestibulehall, corridor, and exit hall, suitable and ap propriate devices may-beprovided for the 4 funand amusement of the passengers, and

platform, form alcoves 411 and. 42 between the wagon houses and doors 43and 44 respectively permit access to and from these alcoves. v

The wagon structure is provided with a tiltahle or oscillatablerectangular frame 45 which is centrallypivoted at 426 in break ets orhearing blocks 47 on the respective frames and 45, and the ends of thisframe hrare designed to have a shght movement,

sufiicient to give theimpression of a roclo ing boat, on thesupporting-wagon At the ends of the frames 35 and l5 are provided twopairs of guide plates as 8 and 49, which overlap and are in frictionalcont-act to prevent relative lateral movement of the two frames 35 and45, and hold them in proper position. At the joints of the oscillatableframe with the alcoves tl and flexible mats may be utilized to cover theadjoining parts and shield against danger to the feet of the patronsentering or leaving the tiltable or oscillating structure.

In Figures 1 and 6 the mechanism for oscillating or rocking the frame d5on its pivots 4:6 is shown, actuated'irom an electric motor J50supported beneath the floor 51 of the rocking frame 15, and a belt orsprocket chain passing overalarger wheel on the shaft 51 revolves saidshaft. The shaft 54-. is suitably supported or journaled beneath therocliing frame and a second, parallel shaft is revolved from the shaft'54 by pinion 56 and gear 57, while a third or eccentric shaft 58 isrevolved from shaft by pinion 59 and gear 60. These erunnerated membersform the gearing for revolving the eccentric shaft, at a reduced speed,and through the eccentric shaft and eccentric head 6] thereon theeccentric or actuating rod 62 vertici lly reciprocated. The eccentricrod is pivi'itally connected at 63 to the rocking trance, and at itslower end has a stationary pivotal connection at as to the axle 65 ofthewagon; Thus with the lower end oi the eccentric rod anchored orstationarv. the action of the eccentric disk or head 61 results inelevating and lowering the ends of the oseillatable frame d5 providingfor a continuous rocking or, tilting movement of the frame 45 withrelation to the wagon frame 35. Y

In Figure 2 it will be seenthat the rocking frame has a housing thereoncomprising? the tour and and side walls indicated by the numeral 66,-access being had to the housing from the alcove 4:1 and exit therefrombeing had through a swinging door 67 to the alcove 1-2. lVithin thehousing, 66 are erected a central longitudinally extending partition 68.three transversely extending partitions 69, 70,:and 71, and a fourthtrans- 'i 'ersely extending partition72 at the exitend of the housing.These several partitions separate the housing space into a series ofcompartments, and swinging doors 73 are provided between theCOIIlPtLItHlBIltSlIl order that the patron may make progress through thetortuous way as illustrated by the arrows. A roof or covering isprovided for the housing 66 to exclude light, and the successive doors73 are preierablyarranged out of alineinentas indicated to furtherretard the ready progress through the series of compartments. Attheright in Figure 2 the flooring 74 is solid and immovable, except asit moves with the rocking structure, but the inaj or portion of thefloor of the structure 66 is divided into movable members or boards thatare continuously moving beneath the the patron steps upon a floorportion comprising a seriesoffloor boards 75, slidable longitudinally ofthe rocking frame and each adjoining boardmoving in oppositedirections,.,or reciprocating horizontally as indicated by thedouble-head dotted arrows. In Figure 7 a detail view is shown toillustrate the structure and actuating mechanism for each ofthesel'ioards, audit will. be seen that they are slidably supported onguide plates or ways 76 between the transverse beams of the rockingframe. Theboards are each reciprocated from a common countershaft oreccentric shaft. '77 extending transversely of the rocking fran'ie, andeach board has an eccentric disk 78, a connecting rod and bracket 80 bymeans of which the rotary movement of. the eccentric shaft transmit-tedand conveyed to the slide board to reciprocate the latter. Thecouutershaft 77 is revolved through its bevel gear connection 81 by thedriving shaft 82 which is supported and jouri'ialed on the rockingframe, and the driving shaft or operating shaft is revolved from anelectric motor '83 through gear1ng84, countershaft 85 and y the bevelgear connection 86 in Fig. 5.

Passing through the doorway of the partition 69, the patron steps fromthe longitudinally reciprocating, oppositely moving boards 75 to atransversely reciprocating board or platform 87, moving in a directionat right angles to the movement of the boards 75 and reciprocating asindicated by the double-head arrow in dotted lines. This platform isactuated in manner similar to each of the boards 75, an eccentric disk88 being provided on the operating shaft 82 and the connecting rod 89pivotally connected to the underside of the platform causes saidplatform to slide on its ways 76 as a support. 7

From the transversely reciprocating platform 87 the patron steps throughthe open door 73 of partition 70 and encounters a vertically moving,hinged platform 90, of which there is a counterpart 91 on the oppositeside of the partition 68. Each of these platforms is hinged as at 92,preferably along the longitudinal center of the housing 66, and when inlowered or normal position, rest upon supporting straps or plates 93flush with the level of the floor. The hinged platforms are successivelyelevated and lowered from the transverse eccentric shaft 94 revolvedfrom the operating shaft 77 by bevel gearing 95, and the eccentrics 96which are pivotally connected to the brackets 97 by rods 98 convert therotary motion of the shaft 94 into a reciprocal movement of the rods 06,proper allowance being made for a loose oint to permit movement ofparts.

Through the instrumentality of an eccentric 99 on shaft 94 and suitableconnections including the connecting rod 100 (Fig. 5) the platform 101is reciprocated longitudinally as indicated by the dotted arrow, andthisplatform is reached by the patron after leaving the hinged platform91, passage being had through partition 71 by its door 73. around theopen space at the right end of the housing and thence through thesucceeding doors as indicated by the arrows.

The patron now passes through a swinging door 73 from thelongitiulinally reciprocating platform, which supports both feet of theperson, to the longitudinally recipro eating boards 75 and these boardsare sufficiently narrow to support only one foot on a board. Afterleaving these boards 75 the patron passes through the door in partition73 and encounters the comparatively long boards 102, which extendtransversely of the housing and reciprocate with shortrapid strokes,sliding on the slide strips or plates 76. The adjoining boards 102 moveor reciprocate in opposite directions and are actuated from theoperating shaft 77 by eccentrics 103 thereon, connecting rods 104 andthebrackets 105 attached .at the undersides of the boards. After leavingthe transversely moving boards 102 the patron passes through the door 67to alcove ,42 and emerges tl'irough the double doors 44 to the outlethall 34 and thence through the exit door 24.

As indicated at 105 in Figure 4 the floor members may have a flexiblecovering 105 which will not interfere with the individual movement ofseparate and, moving parts, but which will prevent the feet of thepatrons from getting caught between moving parts, and other propersafeguards will be utilized. to insure. safety of the patron ashe passesthrough the maze of tortuous passages and bewildering and unexpectedmovements of the floor members. In this manner an unusually novel andattractive diversion is provided in the amusement device which proves asource of merr'iment and fun to the patrons.

Changes and alterations may be made in the structures embodied in theinvention, as for instance, the number of sliding boards may be variedand the width of the boards 7 5 and 102 can be changed; the pivotalsupport for the rocking house may be a trans verse axle instead of twopivot bearings; the guide flanges 48 and 49 for preventing lateralmovement of the rocking structure may extend longitudinally of the sidebars or bolsters of the rocking frame and its supporting Wagon frame,and various other changes may be made within the scope of my claimswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus full y described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a portable amusement devicethe combination with wheeled vehicles adapted for parallel arrangement,a pair of housings supported on said vehicles having floors, anintermediate platform, and an entrance and exit for one'of saidhousings, of angularly disposed partitions in said housings forming asuccession of connpartments and doors in said partitions, one of saidhousings having pivotal supports and means for rocking said housing onits pivotal supports.

2. The combination with a pair of houses one of which has an entranceand an exit and communication means between said houses, of angularlydisposed partitions in said houses forming a succession of compartmentsfrom entrance to exit, doors in said partitions, pivotal supports forone of said housings and means for rocking said housing on its supports,said pivotally supported house having floor members movable in variousdirections, and means for moving said floor members.

3. The combination with a vehicle and its supporting frame, of a housestructure thereon, foldable false walls angularly disposed at the endsof said house and adapted to fold against the ends of the house,foldable bottom false Walls depending from the foldable angularlydisposed Walls, and an intermediate foldable wall depending from thefixed house wall, for the purpose described.

i. The combinationina pivotall supported house structure, of a motor andan eccentric mechanism operated therefrom for rocking said house on itspivotal support, said house having floor members movablein variousdirections, means providing a continuous passage over said floor membersfrom entrance to exit of the house, a second motor, an operating shaftrevolved therefrom and eccentrically operating mechanism between saidoperating shaft and floor members for reciprocating the latter.

5. The combination in a pivotally supported house structure, of a motorand an eccentric mechanism operated therefrom for rocking said house onits pivotal support, said house. having floor members movable invariousdirections, an entrance and exit to the house, angularly disposedpartitions in said house forming a succession of compartments from theentrance to the exit, doors in said partitions, a second motor, anoperating shaft revolved therefrom, and eccentricall v operatingmechanism between said operating shaft and floor members forreciprocating the latter.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

EDWIN A. TERRY.

